Duncan ready for dogfight in tonight’s Budapest breaststroke final

Paul Eddison in Budapest

Duncan Scott is ready for the dogfight of the 100m freestyle final as he gets to measure himself against the best in the world in Budapest.

The 20-year-old Falkirk-trained swimmer will go in his second final at the World Swimming Championships after finishing fourth in the 200m freestyle on Tuesday.

But while he qualified fastest for that final before failing to scoop a medal on that occasion, this time Scott will be the outsider looking to spoil the party against the big guns.

“I’m into the final which is what I wanted to do and then bring on the dog fight,” said Scott, who finished fifth in the Olympic final of this event last year.

“Last year was an absolute dream, making that Olympic final. Sixth is an ok lane for the final. “There’s some big boys in the middle which is good. I want to race them and compare them. I want to race against the best in the world.

“I think the most important thing I learned from Rio is bring you’re A game to a final. It got shown to me (in the 200m final). You don’t need to be great in the last couple of rounds, it’s all about being great on the day.

“I performed at my best in the Olympic final and other people went down so anything can happen in a final so we need to wait and see what happens.”

The former F.I.R.S.T. swimmer’s time of 48.10 was two tenths off his personal best, although it will likely need a British record to be in the mix for the medals – with Frenchman Mehdy Metella qualifying fastest for the final in a time of 47.65.

But after dropping three tenths between heat and semi-final, Scott is eager to test himself against the world’s best and get in the scrap for a maiden major individual medal.

He added: “It’s a small margin off my PB so there’s no way I can be disappointed with that. It’s another step from the morning which is what I want to do.

“There was a 47.6 in there so there’s going to be fast times all over the shop so it might take a fast time to even medal or come top five. You never know but you need to see what happens on the day.

“There’s some fast times being dropped which is good. The event seems to have moved on since Rio. There’s more guys going sub-48 which is good.”

You can help the next generation of young British swimmers by getting involved in SportsAid Week this September with five-time Paralympic champion Ellie Simmonds OBE. Find out more about how you can support the week of fun and fundraising by visiting www.sportsaid.org.uk/sportsaidweek.